Tony Neilson

The story behind Natural Images

It is probably fair to say I am an ‘Australasian’: a proud New Zealander but a longtime resident of Australia, now living near the North Queensland city of Cairns.

As a former journalist, public relations consultant and publisher, I seem to have spent a lifetime associated in some way with environmental and sustainability issues.

Photography and a close interest in the natural environment have always been there in the background. But it took a happy coincidence – semi-retirement and Albert Einstein – to put me on the current path.

Understanding everything

Einstein said, “Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” A remarkable piece of wisdom, and a philosophy that shapes most everything I do these days with camera and keyboard.

I’m no David Attenborough, but through this blog I hope to encourage more people to think about sustainability.

Birds are of special interest – not least because they are facing perhaps their greatest threats in more than 100 million years of evolution. In Australia alone more than a million are reportedly killed every day by cats – not to mention the dead hand of man.

Of all the creatures we share this planet with, I think birds are in a class of their own. Or as Mark Cocker and David Tipling put it in their wonderful book Birds & People: ‘Once gravity-bound like ourselves, in taking flight, this two-legged creature is instantly transformed … and becomes almost everything we are not.’

Red lights flashing

Natural Images is a website for people who want to do right by the environment. To hear more about what’s going on in the forests. To see good (and bad) sustainable design. To see where the ‘red lights’ are flashing.

And let’s not forget the photography! We have some pretty good images available for purchase as digital files (gotta make a buck somehow), tips on how to shoot better stuff, book and equipment reviews, and some crisply worded blogs.

We also hope to encourage other photographers to share some of their work through the site.